Lithuanian DP Doll makes a trip around the world

I received notification that a handmade Lithuanian doll made in DP camp in Dillingen Germany would be coming to the Archives. 

The doll was found at an antique warehouse in Mulgrave Melbourne in 2018 by a Latvian, who recognised the doll as Lithuanian and purchased it.  She 
had presumed the doll was handed into the warehouse from family upon the death or cleanup of Statkeviciute’s household.  On the base of the doll there was a red stamp with the words, Workshop for Lithuanian National Dolls, Laumė. Eng Arch Statkeviciutė, Lithuanian DP camp, Dilligen, Germany.

When accepting items into the Archives, knowing its provenance is very important.  I had not seen that many artifacts from the DP camps and had certainly never heard of doll workshops.  I knew it would be a great asset, as I would assume, very few, if any of dolls of this type had survived time. I wanted to see if I could find more information.  The first assumption was a Statkevičiutė had come to Australia. I first consulted the National Archives but found no Statkevičiutė’s coming to Australia.  Next was the German, Arlosen Archives that holds information about Displaced Persons.  Here I found six Statkevičiutės, but which one?  I viewed each record to see if it had information on the camps they lived in Germany.  There was one match for Dilligen, Stefanija Statkevičiutė.  I now had a full name and date of birth, 1 April 1915 in Vilnius.  I still didn’t have a connection to Australia.  Next a general search of her name and Dilligen, revealed that she was illustrated a children’s book while in the camps.   I googled variations of her name and eureka an obituary showed up from Draugas and American Lithuanian newspaper, 1984.

Stefanija was born on 1 April 1915 in Vilnius. She first studied in Kudirkas Naumiestis, later for six years she studied at Vilkaviškis high school. After this her parents moved to Kaunas.  The last two years she studied and graduated from St. Casimirs Girls' high school of the Congregation of Sisters in Kaunas. In 1933 in the fall, Stefanija enrolled in Vytautas the Great University Faculty of Technology, determined to be an engineer.

From Germany she migrated to Chicago where she worked as an Architect. The obituary tells the story of how Stefanija and her family took in a Jewish friend three-year-old girl.  They changed her identity to avoid her being discovered.  When the family fled, Lithuania, the child went also.  The story ends well, she was reunited with her mother and went to live in Israel. 

The death of engineer-architect Stefanija Statkevičiūtė-Traškienė was unexpected.  She was preparing for a big trip to Australia to visit her sister Marytė, when she died. 

She left behind her husband Alexander, and two daughters, a brother Jurgis and sister Marytė.

This gave me her married name, explained the letters Eng Arch, before her name on the bottom of the doll, Engineer, Architect.  It also gave me a connection to Australia, through her sister Marytė.  I felt sure this was how the doll came to end up here.  

As there were no Statkevičiutė’s coming to Australia, I had to assume, Marytė came here married, but what was here married name?  A search in Billion Graves, gave me a photograph of her grave.  Marija Steponaitis, next to her husband Jonas.  Buried in Hobart, Tasmania.  I couldn’t find and children for Marija and Jonas for me to follow.  I was going with the story that the doll was given to Marija, when she and her husband passed, their personal belonging went to auction.  I now believed I knew who made the doll, and how it got here.  

Well, you know what they say about, people who assume.  I was still hoping to find a living relative, so I went back to Stefa’s family and started to draw up her family tree.  Stefa had two children.  I found an obituary for one in Draugas, that showed she passed away suddenly in Florida. Born in 1954, she married and became an anthropologist. No children were mentioned.  I found a death notice for the other daughter, but no mention husband or children.  I then found an obituary for Stefa’s mother, who confirmed the name of Marija’s surname in Tasmania. 

The obituaries I found all mentioned brothers and uncles. I decided to look sideways into these families.  Another detailed obituary, this time of Stefa’s husbands’ brother.  This had a list of children, with their married names, which I looked into.  Facebook is always a great place to search for living people, and here I came upon a match for one of them. So, I messaged her, explaining that I am looking for descendants of Stefa regarding a doll, I believed she made.  Thankfully she responded quite quickly and filled me on the family.  I had the correct family.  She wrote that on Stefa’s death, her husband, Aleksandras remarried an Australian Lithuanian and moved to Sydney.  She also mentioned she had more cousins in Australia.  I now had several connections to Australia, so maybe my assumption of the doll coming here with Marija was incorrect. She remembers the doll in her aunt’s house, displayed in a cabinet and how Stefa was so proud of it.  She believes, Stefa's husband brought it to Australia.  The marriage ended after ten years and he returned to the US.  For some reason, the doll was left behind and probably sold by the ex-wife.

I wanted to know if the Australian cousins, knew of the doll.  Again, Facebook gave me a connection, but they had never seen or heard of the doll. 

Through a journey around the world, made easy through the internet and archives, I could now add a story to the doll.  Coincidentally, this week, I also received a box of 60 interviews on cassettes of interviews of Lithuanians, in Tasmania.  Among them is an interview of Marija Steponaits.  I can’t wait to listen to that. 

We are in Australia now. A letter from Australia, 1947

National Archives of AustraliaHMAS Kanimbla arrives at Melbourne with the first group of displaced persons (Dec 1947) from where they will join the train bound for Bonegilla Migrant Camp. They had travelled from Europe to Fremantle on the GENERAL HEINTZELMAN and transhipped to the KANIMBLA.

This translation is from a two part article, of which this in number 2. It was cut out from the newspaper with no other parts.  Written by Juozas Šilainis, who arrived on the General Heintzelman.  The first ship bringing post WWII migrants to Australia in December 1947.  This letter was published in ‘Žodis’ a DP camp newspaper in Detmold, Germany, Jan 8 1948.

An ordinary job can earn you £5-6. Food is cheap, housing in expensive.  We work five days per week, eight hours per day.

We will in Fremantle until December 2^nd, then will sail east to Melbourne.  From there by train 200 kilometres to Bonegilla where we will be for about a month.  Here we will rest, learn English, become familiar with the region and work customs until we are allocated work. 

On the journey to Australia we are looked after by a Lithuanian working for the IRO, Vladas Žibas.  He gives us 200 cigarettes a week, soap and other toiletries.

In Diepholz we elected a committee for the journey.  Under the committees direction we remembered All Saints day and on November 23^rd in the Indian Ocean.  We held a religious hour where the English class choir performed, followed by a Baltic music and song concert.  A delicious meal was had at the end.  The Lithuanian scouts were active on board the ship.  When we reached the equator they organised an impressive camp fire evening.  The sailors watching laughed along even though the words could not be understood. The ships newsletter was translated to Lithuanian and printed on the rotatarium ‘Pabaltijo Vikinga’ (Baltic Viking).

We feared sea sickness, and some suffered as soon as they set foot on the ship.  In the middle of the ocean one Lithuanian had an appendix operation but all left the ship healthy.

The Australian cities, people, and living conditions for the newly arrived Europeans were so interesting and surprising that in the short time we have been here we have not been able to evaluate everything.   Leaving Germany we thought we would find a primitive society, but instead modern colourful cities, cheap living, social equality, freedom, cheap transportation, fabulous films and theatre.  While in Perth, not far from Fremantle, are beaches, gardens, no poverty to be seen.

In the town and suburbs you don’t see many people on foot or on bikes, they have cars.  If you walk out into the street and hail a car, someone will stop and ask where you would like to go.  Australians know that a pedestrian usually means you are a new immigrant who would have no money.  They ask many questions which with limited English is hard to answer.  Many however speak, German, Russian or French.

Australians are practical and thrifty, and encourage the new migrants to be the same.  They say don’t send letters by air as it is too expensive, but suggest by sea as it is cheaper but will take longer.  

Not many Australians smoke cigarettes, but deftly roll tobacco in paper to smoke.  They are known as ‘bankrutkes’ as tobacco is cheap and cigarettes expensive.

To earn money quickly you can work as crop or sugar cutting or sheep shearing.

There are a few Lithuanians families already living around Perth and Fremantle, the children growing up in Australia speak Lithuanian.  They live well, have their own cars, houses and say that if you are not afraid of work, don’t drink away your income then very quickly you can buy whatever you want.  They also started with nothing.

On 1 December 1947, we gave the local Lithuanians gave a singing concert to an excited audience.  We sang a dozen songs they have not heard and brought tears to their eyes. Australians were also at the concert and asked for a translation of the songs.

We temporarily belonged to the immigration minister who concerned with our welfare, organised the Salvation Army Red Shield War Services to donate items of clothing, food, shoes and other small items.  They also allowed us to send letters to Europe.

Juozas Silainis

Fremantle 1947.XII.1

Alfred Vitkunas remembers

Alfredas Vitkunas was an active member of the South Australian Lithuanian community.  These are his memories about his leaving Lithuania and arrival in Australia. 

Thankyou to Jura Reilly, who gave permission for her father's memory to appear here.

“Faster! Faster! Can we go any faster?”. Our two horses froth at the mouth, their breathing is as laboured as mine, as I sit petrified with fear, alongside my family who are huddled together inside the cart.

I’m 18 again and just a few hours earlier, while I was working at the Kaunas post office, I took a peek at some very official documents that had arrived. They are the dreaded deportation lists to Siberia and our family’s name is on one of them. I run home as fast as I can and blurt out this vital information to my family.  Without delay, we throw as many belongings as we can into a suitcase each.

It’s a hot day in June 1944 and now we’re fleeing Lithuania by crossing into Germany via the townships of Kudirka and Sirvinta. We stop to rest our two horses in Instermag. We can’t stop for long and then we have to travel onwards, until we find ourselves in East Prussia, where we’re taken in by a kind farmer, Herr Schmidt.  We sleep in his barn but in the morning, we all have lice. Everyone’s itching and cursing like mad. Dad, my brother George and I decide to shave off all our hair.  Mum just washes hers as much as possible in the stream nearby.  There’s no soap.  We make do.  On Schmidt’s farm there are two POWS who work alongside of us doing farm work. We get paid with food and shelter in their barn.

The grapevine provides us with valuable information. From other refugees, we learn that the Russian army is creeping up right behind us. Dad’s an ex Lithuanian army Lt Colonel and he knows that we can’t stay here any longer.  People advise us to travel through West Prussia, then cross into Pomerania. As long as we keep one step in front of the approaching Russian army, we will be safe.  When we get into Jastrow, the officials take away our two horses, telling us they’ll pay us AFTER the war ends.  Now that’s a laugh, who knows where we’ll be or whether any of us will still be alive by then? To compensate, they give our family official papers to travel on by train, that is, if one ever comes.

We sit there huddled on the platform, exhausted and terrified. The Germans won’t let anyone on. But Dad, being an experienced army man has a few tricks up his sleeve.  At nightfall we sneak below the platform and hide behind the wheels of the last train carriage. My parents are middle aged, but the urge to survive at any cost, kicks in. When the guards go off for a smoke, we take the chance and haul ourselves into the last carriage.  By now the weather has changed and our feet are frozen.

When we arrive in Schonedemunde, we manage to get on another train to Greitz via Berlin. In Greitz we have relatives, my aunt Mary and our cousin Algimantas. Unfortunately, Mary is injured during one of the bombing raids on the city and dies of her injuries. We have to bury her and leave  Algimantas to fend for himself. He reassures us that he’ll be fine and not to worry.

Next we arrive in Ingolstadt. There the Germans try to haul us off to Dachau. We manage to escape this horrible fate, by Dad telling them in his perfect German, that we’re here to stay with relatives. As soon as it’s dark, we hurry out of there and find ourselves in a small village, where an old lady called Eglė lets us stay on her farm as long as we fix her windmill. Everywhere there’s utter chaos because we hear that the Germans have lost the war. No one is in charge. People run to save themselves and their families in any way possible. There’s a lot of looting and stealing.

At last the American army arrives. They want to repatriate us back to Lithuania.  We aren’t that stupid, despite all their assurances, made via the Russians, that we’d be welcome back home without any reprisals. We know our history. The Russian invaders have always been well known for their brutality, right throughout the ages. Dad knew he’d be executed and the rest of our family sent to Siberia. He had to serve in the czar’s army in WWI, he knows firsthand, what the Russian army and KGB are capable of.

We are lucky to find ourselves in a DP camp in a pretty town called Eichstätt. That’s where I meet Valdas Adamkus who would  later become one of Lithuania’s  presidents and Gabrys Žemkalnis, whose brother Vytautas Landsbergis would become the first president of a newly independent Lithuania in 1991.

In Eichstätt, I was able to finish high school and I was accepted into Eichstätt University to study philosophy or medicine. I really wanted to study medicine, but at that time DP’s like me, were being offered assisted passages to migrate to America and Australia. My parents wanted to get away as far as possible as they’d encountered the effects of Berlin Blockade and it looked like the Russian tentacles were spreading across Europe.

I listened to Dad’s advice and so April 1948, when I was 21, along with other men, including Gabrys Žemkalnis and Reverend Dauknys, we set sail for Australia on an American ship called the General Sturgis.  It was a sad 22^nd birthday on the ship without my family. On 15th May 1948, we finally docked in Sydney.  There, along with other men, I was taken to the Bathurst Military Barracks which had been turned into a DP camp, housing refugees like myself. It was freezing in June, and we only had a thin blanket on our bunk beds. Later, I was transferred with other men to the Walter Morris Timber Mills in Adelaide, South Australia. It was a back breaking work. Later I was sent to Queensland to cut sugar cane and then came back to Adelaide to work on a farm at Tailem Bend. Afterwards I started work as a ganger at the railway yard at Mile End.

I started to worry about my parents and my younger brother George who had been left behind in the DP Camp in Eichstätt. Luckily, I was able to sponsor them out to Australia and had to be the guarantor for their welfare.  You see, in 1948, my parents at 52 were considered too old to immigrate to Australia which needed young people to work on the railways, the Snowy Mountains Scheme and other post war projects, and at 16, my brother George was considered too young. In 1949, the rest of my family were allowed to join me, but they were sent to the Bonegilla Migrant Camp in Albury, NSW at first.  Later, they were transferred to Adelaide where I found them jobs on the railways. In 1950, I met my future wife Liuda Giniotytė and her family who were from Palanga.  The same year my brother met Nijolė Plokštytė, but my parents would not give George their consent for him to marry Nijolė till he was 21! They had 2 sons; Victor and Andrew.

Alfredas and Liuda on the wedding day

In 1951, Liuda and I got married and afterwards, we all pooled our money to buy a house at 96 Childers St in North Adelaide. Our daughter Jura was born on 1952. In 1954, my parents and my family bought a house at 4 Henley St Torrensville. Unfortunately during that same year, I had a horrific motorbike accident on the way to work as a ganger with the railways.  The surgeon did not set my broken leg very well. I was out of work for a year.  Later, I was transferred to work in the Accounts office at Mile End, as I couldn’t work as ganger after my accident. We were lucky that my parents Ona and Marijonas Vitkunas were able to help us out. Our son Rimas was born in 1958. Four years later, in 1962 we were able to buy a house at 24 Bagot Ave, Mile End and that’s where our youngest son Robert was born.

Post script: Alfredas Vitkunas was one of the original dancers  in the Adelaide Lithuanian dancing group,  served on many committees within the Adelaide Lithuanian community, acted in the acting group, sang in the choir and for many years, was in charge of the Adelaide Lithuanian Museum at Lithuanian House in Norwood. In 2004, Alfredas was awarded a Padėkos Raštas (Certificate of Thanks) for his museum work, by the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture.

Australia land of tomorrow

Ruth Balint in her paper on ‘Industry and sunshine; Australia as home in the displaced persons camp of postwar Europe’  writes that the Australian government had to work hard to recruit the migrants they considered to be the ‘best types’ to immigrate to Australia.  
The Australian government created a publicity drive targeting the displaced persons in order to sell Australia as a new homeland.  The campaign included film, radio programs, booklets, posters and lectures.

Several films were produced, one of which was Mike and Stefani 1948/49.

Made just after World War Two, Mike and Stefani follows a family of displaced persons from their refugee camp in a devastated Germany to their new home in Australia. It features moving re-enactments of their travails in Europe, chronicling the wartime separation of the young Ukrainian couple, the difficulties of the labour camps, the loneliness and chaos, their eventual reunion and their application to emigrate. The final sequences, filmed as they actually occurred in Bavaria, shows their selection interview and journey to Australia with some of their family.

http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition
/objectsthroughtime/post-war-migration-poster/

Posters
Joe Greenberg
The poster displays Australian Government promoting Australia as the land of prosperity and growth to prospective European migrants with the banners such as “Australia: Land of Tomorrows” and imagery of opportunity. The poster interprets the attempts by the Australian government to build up Australia’s population of European migrants at a time when the White Australia Policy was firmly enforced. 







You can access Ruth Balint article here.

http://journals.publishing.monash.edu/ojs/index.php/ha/article/viewFile/1103/1662   

Publications printed on the way to Australia

'General Black' concert program

Daily newsletters, souvenir journals and the like were printed on board the ships that carried the new migrants to Australia.  They are typed and often illustrated by someone on board with some artistic talent.   The language varies, depending on who is publishing the item.  Most are in several languages of the Displaced Persons, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, German, Ukrainian, Russian and English. They often include interviews with members of the crew, facts and information about Australia, an itinerary of travel locations, poems, historic items of Lithuania’s history.  Some contains articles talking of preserving Lithuanian culture and traditions when they live in Australia.



Many contain lists of key personnel on-board, details about the ship and even a page for signatures to be collected. 

From the souvenir edition of newspaper printed on board the USAT General Heintzelman in November 1947.  The first transport carrying DP's to Australia, post WWII.

'General Heintzelman' 1947

We have ceased counting the days which have passed since we lost sight of the European coastline.  With each hour more and more miles increase the distance between is and the hopelessness and idleness in Germany, bringing us nearer to a new worthy life in a new land.  We are animated by gratitude for the rehabilitation which we are offered by the Australian Government in conjunction with the IRO.  We are determined to become good citizens of our new country and we fervently desire to take once more our place in a community which will accept us as its members, each one of us working to the best of our abilities, with regard to our individual aptitudes.  

These abilities and aptitudes are a heritage from our native countries on the shores of the Baltic Sea, our only native countries for which there will always be a feeling of longing and reverence in our hearts.  We all are sons and daughters of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and such we will remain, remembering that once were ours.  The fate and suffering of the Baltic peoples ar known to the greater part of the world, to the rest we shall untiringly tell of them until the day that our native countries regain their freedom and independence.

This ship is a link between our distant native country and our new refuge.  Is it our wish that this review be a link between the passengers and the crew on this ship. 

Back cover with signatures of publication on
board General Stewart, Feb 1948

Ciurlionis Ensemble in Germany

The Čiurlionis Lithuanian Art Ensemble was an internationally known group of entertainers formed in 1940 in Vilnius, Lithuania, by Alfonsas Mikulskis. It was organised to keep the nationalist spirit alive in the people despite Soviet and Nazi domination.

The Čiurlionis, named after the noted Lithuanian composer Mikalojus K. Ciurlionis, featured Lithuanian dance, music, and song, performed in traditional costumes.

Following the second invasion of Lithuania by the Soviets in 1944, the ensemble escaped to Vienna, Austria, where they re-established and began touring Austria and Germany.  Mikulskis, founder of the Čiurlionis Art Ensemble and its director until his death, studied at the Klaipeda and Kaunas conservatories and at the Stuttgart Academy of Music. A former director of the Lithuanian Philharmonic Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, he was also a member of the Lithuanian underground during occupation. He was aided by his wife, Ona, who also studied music and directed the Lithuanian Kankles (a mandolin-like instrument) National Ensemble.

At the close of World War II, the Ensemble found its way to the West. In Western Germany the Ensemble gave more than 300 concerts in Western Europe appearing in the concert halls of Vienna, Berlin, Stuttgart, Munich, Bayreuth, Frankfurt, Hamburg and many other cities where they were enthusiastically received by American, French, Swiss, and German music critics. 

In the fall of 1949, through the generosity of many friends, the Ensemble was able to settle in Cleveland.  After settling in Cleveland, the Čiurlionis gave its first concert in 1950. It appeared at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and toured extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, and South America.  From about 40 members in 1949, the number had grown to nearly 70 in the 1980s.  The ageing of the membership along with the difficulty of finding a director prompted the disbanding of the group in 1992, two years after it had experienced the fulfilment of a final tour back to a free Lithuania.

Several of the Ensembles members immigrated to Australia, and in the Archives are a collection of posters, programmes and tickets of the groups concerts around Germany in the years 1944-47.

Destination Australia: Sharing post WWII migrant stories

The National Archives of Australia has recently launched a new website, called Destination Australia. The website aims to draw on the stories of the people and their family members featured in the photographs showcased on the site to create an in-depth history of Australia’s post-war immigration.

The featured photographs come from a promotional series of photographs taken by the Department of Immigration which are now stored as the Immigration Photographic Archive collection (Series A12111) hosted within the National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch database.

The series contains more than 25,000 photographs and over 21,000 of those are featured on this site. With nearly six million migrants to Australia since 1945 it would be challenging to try to identify everyone who might appear in the photographs, and to collect and share their stories. But with the help of all Australia, we are going to try.

This is your opportunity to share your immigration stories related to the photographs.

The site is continuing until at least 2015 and the information shared will become part of the Archives’ RecordSearch system as a permanent part of Australia’s history.

You are able to tag people who you know, tag where they came from and came to, add descriptions and comments, and comment on others’ contributions, or scan photographs to explore what Australia’s post-war immigration boom was really about.

 www.destinationaustralia.gov.au

The Titanic; A Lithuanian Australian connection

Luidvikas Stulpinas also known as Ludwig Stulping was born December 4th 1871, in Jomantai into a wealthy farming family. He is regarded as the first Lithuanian sea Captain.

He was Captain of the Birma when he attempted to aid the stricken Titanic. The Birma of the Russian East Asiatic Company, had just departed from New York bound for Rotterdam. The sinking Titanic send a distress call on the 14th April, 1912, which was intercepted by the Birma. Captain Stulpinas at once altered the ships course, being 100 miles away from the tragedy. The position given was incorrect, and the Birma was not the first ship to arrive. As the ship came closer to offer assistance they were told to “Stand by”. They were unable to gain further information as they were not a Marconi company ship, which were given orders not to pass on information to non Marconi ships. It soon became clean that the ships help was not wanted. How many lives could they have saved if commercial rights did not stand in their way.

Stulpinas became honorary consul in Libau, then a part of Russia, now a seaport in Latvia. By 1923 with part of the Memel area returned to Lithuania, he returned to Klaipeda as Harbourmaster, he held this position until 1933. He played an active role in maritime activities and developed numerous naval plans.

Liudvikas had two sons, Napoleonas and Aleksandras. Both fled Lithuania at the end of WWII and ended up in Displaced Persons camps in Germany. Both immigrated to Australia and made Adelaide their home.

Porteress Recruits Among D.P's

Seventeen married couples whoa re to work for the SA Railways' were among the 80 displaced persons from Europe who reached Adelaide on Saturday by train from Melbourne. They are quartered at the Migration Hostel.

The wives are to be trained as porteresses and the husbands will work in various sections of the railways.

Women comprised about half of the group of 80 persons who arrived on Saturday.
Some of them, going to domestic work in the metropolitan area, wept at pasting temporarily from husbands, who will reside at Gawler or Smithfield camps and undertake factory and other employment.

The Rev. Father P. Jatulis, a Lithuanian, who arrived on Saturday will be attached to the Catholic Presbytery, West Tce, city.

The Advertiser, Monday 11 April 1949, p.10

Its on the map!

I have been learning more about Google Maps and am playing around with places that are or have been significant in the lives of many Lithuanian migrants to South Australia.


View Lithuania to Australia in a larger map

360 D.P's on Rocket Range work

CANBERRA, Friday
The Minister for Works and Housing. Mr N. Lemmon said today that 360 Poles, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians and Yugoslavs were employed on the rocket range in Central Australia.
There are also 1,909 Australian and British workmen there.

Mr Lemmon gave the information in a written reply to questions by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Mr F.J. Harrison in the House of Representatives.

Security screens before and after arrival in Australia were carried out by the Attorney-Generals department.

Displaced Persons were employed on the rocket range because at the time they were directed int he work it was not possible to secure sufficient Australian labourers to remain on the job for any length of time.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 4 June 1949, p.5

The Rocket range refers to Woomera.

This is my hat!

English for Newcomers to Australia
Prepared by the Commonwealth Office of Education, consultant RG Crossley, first edition July 1948

The purpose of the is book is to help immigrants to Australia, who do not yet speak English to get some knowledge of the language as rapidly as possible.

Lesson 11
This is my head, This is my hat, My hat is in my hand. My hand is on my head.
This is Mr Peel's head, It is his head. I put my hat on his head. My hat is on his head.
This is Mrs Peel's head. It is her head. I put my hat on her head. I take my hat off Mr Peel's head and put it on Mrs Peel's head.

I'm not sure about you but if i didn't know English, I don't think I could learn it this fast.

Dressed to impress

Displaced Persons going through Bonegilla Migrant Camp upon entry to Australia would receive items of clothing. The list below is for my great aunt and uncle and shows the different items for males and females.

Albinas
Boots (1)
Shoes
Sox (2)
Underpants (2)
Singlet (2)
Handkerchiefs (2)
Pyjamas (1)
Hats (1)
Braces (1)
Ties (1)
Trousers (1)
Coats (1)
Shirts (1)
Pullovers (1)

Ruta
Shoes (1)
Stockings (1)
Anklets (2)
Pantettes
Singlet (1)
Blouses
Skirts(1)
Handkerchiefs
Nightdresses (1)
Pyjamas
Corsets (1)
Brassieres (1)
Overalls (1)
Hats (1)
Cardigans (1)
Raincoats (1)

The General Heintzelman

The General Stuart Heintzelman was the first ship that carried Displaced Persons from war torn Europe to settle in Australia.

The first transport brought 843 refugees to Australia, 729 males, 114 females, 142 Estonians, 262 Latvians and 439 Lithuanians. Below are some of the Lithuanians from that transport who settled in South Australia.

PUŠLYS
SMILGEVIČIUS
BIMBA
GUSTAINIS
BALSEVIČIUS
DONIĖLA
KAMISKAS
BRAZAUSKAS
JAKIMAVIČIUS
MAČUKAS
ŽVINKLYS
VALIŪLIS
ANTANAITIS
VALENČIUS
STAUGAS
DZIAUGYS
JUŽELENAS
SAMULIS
ČAPLIKAS
JANONIS
BAKŠYS
NORKELIŪNAS
KALIKAS
JUČIUS
ŠALYTĖ
JUODKA
BULKĖ
BLIUKYS
ZAJARSKAS
UZPULEVIČIUS
AKUMBAKAS
MAZILIAUSKAS
VIDURGIRIS
GRICIUS
NAVICKAS
GUOBA
BIELSKIS
DEIMANTAS
VALTERIS
KALENDRA

Link to the complete list of passengers aboard the first transport and more information about the first transport can be found on the Fifth Fleet website. www.fifthfleet.net

Latvian little birds of God

I have recently come across a beautifully produced website on Latvian Displaced Persons and life in the camps. Dieva Putnini which translates to Little birds of God's has an English, Latvian and German translation. Most of the site is in Latvia. It looks at life in the camps, and migration around the world. It features some fantastic photographs as well. As the Lithuanian story is so similar to the Latvian one, this may be of interest if you are wanting to know more.

www.dpalbums.lv

Baltic Corps III

The corps was made up of 6 squads of three grades each. Each grade had 12 men. There was also a farmers squad, they were chauffers, cooks, sanitary works, interpreters. The head of the corps held the rank of Captain. Each corps had 240-250 men. The first corps was lead by Captain Drabišius and later Sukys. The second corps was captained by Andrašiunas and later Kriksčiunas.

Once training was over, the men went to Furth near Nurenburg. Both corps resided in one barracks. They guarded the dynamite factory, prison, motor pool, journalists and high ranking US army officer’s homes and other army objectives. The motor pool held tanks and jeeps.

From Furth both corps was moved to Zindorf. They guarded US general Taylor and Watson.

There were several excellent sportsmen among the corps. They had basketball, soccer and volleyball teams, as well as boxing and table tennis. Furth had a Baltic club, which also needed guarding. The club held dances and various programmes. Beer and other drinks could be brought with dollars or ‘scripts’ which were special money of the occupying army. It held the same value as American dollars. They would receive the scripts after five months. Some of the wages were in marks and also P.I.X ‘pieksa’ items such as toiletries, chocolate, lollies, biscuits etc.

The first corps was named after king Vytautas and the second after king Algirdas. Each corps had their own flag. Each corps also had their own number. Corps I was 4204, and II- 4129. The Baltic headquarters was in Heidelberg. February 12, 1947, corps II was transfer to Wurzburg, corps and later transferred to Bamberg. In Wurzburg the DP prison was guarded and received a new number 4065. December 17th, 1947 transferred to Bad-Kissingen.

The corps moved again and was renumbered 4200, June 26th 1948, a secret place in the French zone, not far from Kaiserslautern. They lived in a tent town.

Dogs were introduced into he corps, they underwent training, guards and dogs would only go on night duty.

Once immigration began, the corps underwent screening process. The majority of men from the corps immigrated to the USA. The corps in Germany was then filled by older Lithuanians and Germans.

Written by Balys Nemeika and printed in
Mūsų Pastogė Nr 13 1996.4.1 page 5 & 7
Nr, 14 1996.4.8 page 6
Nr 15, 1996.4.15 page 4

Baltic Corps II

English army uniforms were black, the wage about 102 DM and 24 shillings. These corps folded once immigration began.

The American zone formed guards, the first in 1946 in Wurzburg Military Community Headquarters APO 227, May 20^th. This squad was from the Seligenstadt DP camp. The squad was lead y Captain Matulionis. They had no uniform but had UNRRA on their borrowed raincoats. Armed guards guarded the army’s railway wagons and other objects. The first corps was formed in the beginning of January 1946, Jan 5^th the second corps was formed. The English corps was called the Labor Service Co, the Guard company was added, sometimes known as Lithuanian Guard Company, officially the word civilian was added. The corps was run along military lines, you were known by your army rank.

The first corps was from Scheinfeld and other DP Camps, the II corps was formed from several DP camps, this corps tried to recruit men who did not have DP status. The corps was formed in Scheinfeld DPcamp. From here, you were taken to Kafertal near Mannheim training centre. This centre had many Poles and was so called Camp Kosciuszko. From the train station, they marched singing. Most of the men had served in some army. Here they learnt drills, how to use firearms. Everything was by USA Army standards. All the commands were in English. At the camp they received black uniforms, white socks, ties, belts and either white or blue helmets. Because of the colour of the uniform, we were known as “blackies”. On their sleeves they wore the national colours with corps number or ‘Baltic’ on it. The rank insignia were like in the army on your shoulders or sleeves.

Baltic Corps

This information was translated from the Lithuanian newspaper "Musu Pastoge" . It was published several years ago and details the activities of the Baltic Corp just after the war. It was written by Balys Nemeika (now deceased) who was in the Corps. Part I

Men in Displaced Persons camps could serve in the American or English occupying armies while they lived in Germany. After the war, soldiers wanted to return home and the occupying forces needed to search elsewhere for men to work. People from the Baltic states were considered as it would be much cheaper than retaining their own soldiers. There was no lack of volunteers; the camps while waiting for immigration were monotonous, food was plain and there was not nearly enough. The cold war had also begun with the USSR and men believed that if conflict arose then the volunteers could serve with the Lithuanian army. Some believed they may be looked upon more favourably if they wanted to immigrate to America.

About mid 1947, Baltic Corps were instituted in the English zone. About 30 squads were created each with between 30-32 men. Each squad leader was Lithuanian. The rationale was to work at various army objectives. Works squads worked in garages, kitchens, and as drivers.

More Questions...

Displaced Persons wanting assistance from UNRRA or seeking to emigrate after WWII filled out copious amounts of forms. Below is questions from Memmingen which was translated from English to Lithuanian for DP's to fill out.

UNNRA Team 155
APO 757 Memmingen
Germany

STATUS QUESTIONAIRE

Date:
Name:
Married Single:
Address: DP Index card:
Birth date: Birthplace:
Country:

Date on which you left your country:
Date on your arrival in Germany:
Purpose of your arrival:
Where did you work in Germany:
Name of Firm:
Why did you work there:

Did you ever reside in Russia:
If persecuted, attach here copies of papers and details:
If married, give the name of other party:
Do you own any property in Germany:
Did you ever except German citizenship:
If yes, why:
Any proof:

Application for Assistance
PCIRO
Annex A to Administrative Order 29

Family name
Date
Identity No
Religion: R.C, Prot, Jew other
Nationality:
Marital status:
Family Members:
Places where you resided for last 12 years:
Employment for last 12 years:
Education:
Languages spoken: Speak, Read, Write
Financial Resources:
Property Cash and income Assistance from relatives
Relatives details:
Assistance:
Have you or any member of your family been receiving assistance from UNRRA; IGC; Voluntary agency:
If you have been receiving assistance, please state the amount:
If you have been receiving assistance from a voluntary agency please give the name of the agency.
Documents:
Organisation you belonged to and why:
Present address:
Remarks:
Do you wish to return to your country of former residence?
Do you wish to remain in Germany?
Have you any relatives, friends or resources in Germany:
Do you wish to emigrate to some other country? Is so country of first preference.
Do any factors exist which might facilitate your emigration to this country.
What close relatives have you in this country? Give addresses, state relationship and whether any such relative is prepared to help you financially or otherwise.
Other preferences as to resettlement and resources.

Baltic University in exile

Not content with life passing them by, Balts residing in refugee camps in Germany established a University at Hamburg in the British Zone of Occupation in March 1946. Funding came from UNRRA, the Lutheran World Federation and other groups. In early 1947 it was moved to a former Luftwaffe school in Pinneberg. The term University was not allowed so it was renamed the Displaced Person's Study Centre, although commonly referred to as the University.

The University didn't last long as many of its staff and students immigrated to other countries. A total of 76 students graduated in its short existence, 53 of them Latvian, 16 Lithuanian and 7 Estonians. Many others went on to complete studies in their new adopted homes.

The University had 170 professors on the teaching staff and 1,200 students in eight faculties and 13 subdivisions.

My grandfather enrolled, continuing his Engineering studies that was interrupted by war. He enrolled in March 25th 1946, student number 393. He studied 35 subjects, with most Professors coming from Kaunas University. He finished his Engineering degree at Adelaide University.